Waveguide power divider



Dec. 10, 1957 R. D. HATCHER WAVEGUIDE POWER DIVIDER Filed May 23, 1952INVENTOR in none-Rf 0. HA TCHER Q/Z W ATTORNEYS United States PatentWAVEGUIDE rowan mvnmn Robert D. Hatcher, Washington, D. C., assignor tothe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the NavyApplication May 23, 1952, Serial No. 289,702 2 Claims. (Cl. 333-7)(Granted under Title 35, U. 5. Code (1952), see. 266) The inventiondescribed herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Governmentof the United States of America for governmental purposes without thepay-' ment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates generally to electromagnetic energytransmitting waveguides, and more particularly to a variable powerdivider for coupling variable amounts of power between two sections ofwaveguides, or for diverting a desired amount of power being transmittedthrough one waveguide into another waveguide, and is related toapplication Serial No. 289,703, filed May 23, 1952.

In waveguide transmission of electromagnetic energy,

.it is frequently desired to couple energyfrom one section of waveguideinto a second waveguide channel, or to decrease the power of energytransmittedalong one waveguide by diverting or coupling a portion of theenergy into a separate waveguide channel. In such applications, it is.further frequently desirable to be able to vary the proportions ofdiverted or coupled energy, as for example to effect a variableattenuation control of that energy in the initial waveguide channelreaching the power diverting or coupling'point.

The present invention, being directed toward accomplishing the'foregoingends, has therefore as one object to provide for dividing waveguidetransmitted electromagnetic energy from one waveguide channel intoanother in varying proportions as desired. I

Another object of the present invention is to elfect a variable powercoupling of electromagnetic energy between sections of waveguide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a variable powercoupling between sections of waveguide simple in construction, easy ofoperation, positive in operation, and having a minimum number of parts.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway isometric view of an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal sectional view of the device shownin Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig.2.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a portion of each of twowaveguide channels 10 and 11 which have been brought into longitudinaljuncture at 12, there united into an integral structure, and thedividing walls removed. A short fixed partition 13 may be provided atone end of the juncture 12 along its longitudinal center. There isfurther provided along this center line two grooves or slots 14 and 15,one at the top and the other at the bottom of the juncture, running fromthe end of the partition 13 to the opposite end of the juncture.

The end of the juncture 12 opposite from thepartition 2,816,269 PatentedDec. 10,

13 is provided with a slit opening'16 (Fig. 2), extending from top tobottom of the juncture, for receiving a movable partition 17 comprisingthe wall portion 18 and handle 19. The wall portion 18 may be formed oftwo elongated strips of metal 20 and 21, preferably rolled to curvealong their shorter dimension, and secured tcgether with their concavesides outward. The dimensions of the wall 18 are chosen such that wheninserted into the juncture 12 through slit 16, the wall can extendtherein up to and abut the end of short fixed partition wall 13, theopposed longitudinal edges of the movable partition sliding in thegrooves 14 and 15. The curvature in strips 20 and 21 is formed toprovide sufficient spring action to makev good electrical contact withthe grooves and hence the juncture walls and the waveguides, and toeffect a frictional holding of the movable partition in its adjustedposition.

The structure described thus provides for bringing two waveguidesections into conjunction with a movable partition separating the twowaveguides at their juncture. By slidably adjusting the longitudinalposition of movable partition 17 in the .guideways or slots 14 and 15,the size of the opening or aperture between the two sections ofwaveguides can be readily adjusted at will, and by enlarging ordiminishing this aperture the power coupling or division between the twowaveguide sections is accordingly altered. As will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art, the position of the partition in thejuncture 12, and thus the window or aperture size, can be verniercontrolled for accurate power division or coupling, and further, can beremotely controlled by, motor, solenoid, or mechanical linkage asdesired.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is there ore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A waveguide power controller comprising two waveguide sectionsbrought into juncture along a portion of their length, an opening beingformed to interconnect the two waveguide sections along their juncture,the top and bottom walls of the juncture thus formed each having agroove running substantially along said pening, said juncture furtherhaving a slit opening at one end running between the top and bottomgrooves, and means for converting said two waveguide sections into asingle, undivided energy directing chamber, or alternatively, into anadjustably coupled energy dividing circuit, said means comprising apartition wall of electrically conducting material including twoconcavely bowed resilient strips having tangential contact along theirmedian areas, and having their top and bottom edges slidably positionedin said grooves through said slit, varying the position of saidpartition in said grooves thereby varying the opening interconnectingsaid waveguide sections along said juncture to vary the electromagneticpower coupling therebetween accordingly.

2. A waveguide junction comprising two open-ended rectangular waveguidesections contiguous along their narrow sides for a portion of theirlength and having a common wall portion, an opening in said wall portionfor electromagnetically interconnecting said sections, parallellongitudinal grooves formed in the opposite walls of said sections alongsaid opening, and a slidable partition formed of two elongated strips ofresilient conducting material secured together with their opposite edgesdiverging and resiliently contacting the sides of said groove forvarying the electromagnetic power coupling between said sections.

(Refereneeeonfollowlngpegb) 3 References Cited'in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Southworth Apr. 11, 1939 Lund Dec. 18, 1951Hofweegen et al Apr. 8, 1952 Tomiyasu-et a1. June 19, 1956 OTHERREFERENCES Directive Couplers in Wave Guides, by Surdin, published invol. 93,part III A, No. 4 of the (British) Journal

